Cambodia’s trade with RCEP hits $11 billion in first quarter

Cambodia’s trade with RCEP hits $11 billion in first quarter

Cambodia’s trade volume with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries reached $11.26 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 18.5%, according to an official report yesterday.

The country’s exports to fellow RCEP member countries were valued at $2.82 billion during the January-March period this year, up 4.2%, while its imports reached $8.44 billion, up 24.2%, said the report compiled by the Ministry of Commerce.

The report showed that the RCEP remained Cambodia’s largest market, accounting for 64% of the kingdom’s total trade volume of $17.58 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Cambodia’s top five trading partners under the RCEP, according to the report, are China, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce Secretary of State and spokesman Penn Sovicheat said that RCEP, the world’s largest free trade pact, has played a crucial role in boosting Cambodia’s trade growth.

“RCEP is a key driver of our long-term export growth and a magnet for attracting more foreign direct investment to Cambodia,” he told Xinhua.

Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Centre of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said that, as an RCEP member, Cambodia has been experiencing steady growth in exports and imports from China and Vietnam, among others.

“Cambodia’s reliance on RCEP will remain the primary cornerstone for the kingdom’s primary trade engine,” he told Xinhua.

“However, the structure may become more import-intensive, reinforcing Cambodia’s role as an assembly hub rather than a high-value producer unless industrial upgrading accelerates skills, logistics and digitalisation. 

khmertimeskh